GK-12 Sensors!
Portable Module

Title: Engineering Seminar

Author: Jesse Michael Parks

Disciplines: All

Introduction

The Engineering Seminar is a research-and-presentation project. In broad terms, students research a topic of interest and then give a presentation to their peers to share what they’ve learned. The seminar should be organized around a specific theme; for example, in my Biology classes, the theme chosen was “bio-engineering”. The length and depth of the work required will be chosen depending on the capabilities of the students and the amount of time available.

The Engineering Seminar was conceived as a way of demonstrating the work of a professional researcher and how the research industry operates. The seminar or conference is the backbone of professional research, the forum by which knowledge gained through research is shared with the community. While the students participating in this project will not be doing original research, they will be basing their presentations on scholarly articles and primary sources.

Many—or most—of us are accustomed to receiving our information pre-digested. When “scientists” or “studies” assert something, we often simply accept it at face value. It is important that students learn how to think critically about the claims and statistics proffered by “experts”. The Engineering Seminar will require students to consult primary sources and find out for themselves what the research shows.

Finally, the basis of technological advancement is the ability to learn from others and to share information and ideas. The best idea in the world is useless unless it can be implemented, and implementing an idea often involves bringing in a number of other people. The Engineering Seminar will require students to teach others about what they have learned, thereby improving the knowledge base of the class as a whole.

Associated Maine Learning Results

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS:

D. INFORMATIONAL TEXTS:
Students will apply reading, listening, and viewing strategies to informational texts across all areas of curriculum.
H. RESEARCH-RELATED WRITING:
Students will work, write, and speak effectively when doing research in all content areas.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:

L. COMMUNICATION:
Students will communicate effectively in the application of science and technology.
M. IMPLICATIONS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Students will understand the historical, social, economic, environmental, and ethical implications of science and technology.

1. Students will improve their ability to locate and digest primary sources of information.
2. Students will improve their ability to summarize and present information to a peer group.

Required Equipment

It is critical that students have access to significant research resources. I was fortunate to be working at the Bangor High School when I led this project; their library has access to a number of academic search engines and databases. Clearly, if the students have few means by which to conduct research, a research-based project will be difficult to implement.

Expected Results

Students will deliver an oral presentation and a written report. As stated in the Introduction, the scope of these can vary. It is also important to consider just how much time it will take for all the students to deliver their presentations—as with any research conference, the presentations may last several days. It is also important to keep the length of the written report in balance with the length of the oral presentation. The written report should be long enough to contain all the material covered in the presentation, no more and no less.

Procedures: Introducing the Project, Timeline, Points of Emphasis, A Research Method

Introducing the Project

With any project, students will be sensitive to our own attitudes about it. If we want students to buy-in to an idea, we must really sell it. The success of a project like the Engineering Seminar is going to hinge on the students enthusiasm about their topics and the project in general. Above all, we want to convey the attitude that this seminar is a Big Deal.

To this end, I began by dropping a couple hints a week or two ahead of time that we had a Big Project coming up, something Really Cool, and Very Important. When the time came, I made sure that my description of the project and the Assignment_Sheet used lofty and technical language. We will also want to emphasize that in this project, they will be performing the role of a real, live, professional researcher.

Timeline

This is a project that must be conducted over several weeks, depending on the workload of the students. Here is a rough timeline, along with checkpoints where the students’ progress can be monitored.

1. Introduction to Research Tools, 1-2 days. Students may need to be instructed as to what sort of search engines and databases are available and how to use them. Checkpoint: Confirm that each student is able to use their resources effectively.
2. Topic Selection, 2-3 days. The topics selected should be as specific as possible, preferably about a particular researcher or research group. Checkpoint: Confirm that each student has selected a suitable topic.
3. Research, 2-3 weeks. Students should use a combination of in-class and after-school time to research their topics, with in-class time provided for 2 or 3 days at the beginning and periodically throughout the remainder of the time period. Checkpoint: At the end of each week, confirm that students are finding a sufficient number of appropriate sources.
4. Presentation Outline, 2-3 days. Students will need to develop a rough outline showing how they will organize the information they have found. Checkpoint: Confirm that students have developed an outline.
5. Preparing Presentation and Report, 2-3 weeks. Students will prepare their presentation notes and visual aids and write their reports. Checkpoint: Collect written reports prior to the commencement of the presentations.
6. Oral Presentations, 3-5 days. Students will deliver their presentations.

Points of Emphasis

The following are some Dos and Don’ts to emphasize to the students as they are preparing their work.

Oral Presentation:

• Visual aids. The purpose of a visual aid is to convey information or to make a point that would be difficult to do orally. It’s the old “a picture is worth a thousand words” idea. Visual aids should be encouraged; however they must have a purpose. Using them just for the sake of using them accomplishes nothing.
• Body Language. A presenter’s body may also function as a visual aid. Gestures and movement can be used to hold audience attention or to emphasize a point. Eye contact is good. Fidgeting and gum-chewing are bad.
• Oration. In an oral presentation, oration is obviously the most important area to consider. In tone, presenters should strive to be confident, conversational, and lively, never monotonous, unsure, or condescending. As to voice, it is important to speak clearly and loudly, and to avoid rushing, mumbling, or hemming-and-hawing.

Written Report:

• Organization. The report should be organized into basic sections such as Background, Details, and Implications. Within each section, writers should organize their information in the way that makes the most sense to them, so that the readers can relate to the topic the way the writers do.
• Style. Good technical writing should be direct and concise. Avoid using two words when one will do. Words should be chosen carefully and used precisely; uncommon terms should be defined. Avoid injecting personal opinion or drawing too many conclusions. The motto to keep in mind is, “Just the facts, please.”

A Research Method

One method I have used successfully for this type of project begins by scanning popular media (magazines, for example) for an interesting topic. When an interesting article is found, I take note of the specific names of the people involved in the work, and search for any articles they have published. This seems to work better than attempting to search by certain keywords or catch phrases, because such words and phrases can vary greatly and are hard to predict. From searching by author, I’m looking for a “keystone” paper, one that deals squarely with my topic of interest. Once I find such a paper, I expand my search by investigating its references. The keystone paper and its references should provide enough material, but obviously I could look at the references of the references, and so on. This method simply provides a structure that students can follow, and helps keep their effort directed and productive.

Return to module categories list.